Tea In A Bucket, based on My Sassy Girl
by Evil Sunflower
Summary: Zuko is heading home by train one night at Ba Sing Se train stations when he finds and saves a drunk girl from the tracks. As the night wears on, it's quite apparent to Zuko that time spent with this girl can't ever ensure a moment's brea


This is simply a merge of characters from AtLA with a very similar plot to My Sassy Girl for those who have not had the pleasure of seeing it. Enjoy!

I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender or anything affiliated to it.

* * *

I'm finally seeing her again after two years. I'm so nervous, I can't stop pacing. We specifically made a pact underneath this tree by the cliff that we'd meet here again in two year's time and we each buried separate time capsule here together. With the pact came the promised to open the other's time capsule and read what we wrote about each other when the time comes. Today is the today, and I have every right to read hers now, but I want to wait until she comes.

**First Half**

_Two Years Earlier_

My name is Zuko Lee. Yes, Zuko is a funny name, I know. There's an even funnier story as to how I came to have it. Well, now that I think about it, it's not all that funny really. It's actually rather sad.

My parents had always wanted a girl. They had emigrated from the Fire Nation to the Earth Kingdom's town of Gaoling. After becoming settled with a middle class house and a business selling cloth, they went straight on to starting a family. Four months into my mother's pregnancy, my father decided on the name Azula.

I was born with a penis. Thus _Zuko_. You'd think that this particular detail would have deterred my parents from their dream of a baby girl. They raised me as one for the first seven years of my life. My mother went as far as taking me to the women's bathhouse and dressing me in female garments.

I had always thought that my penis would grow smaller as I grew older. After my seventh birthday, it was becoming quite apparent to me it was the exact opposite so I didn't let my mother take me there again. I'm twenty-two years old now and a student of the Ba Sing Se University. My parents coaxed me into it, constantly telling me how smart I am. That's their way of persuasion with all my studies but sadly it lacks inspiration.

_FLASH_

_They were all in the family's living room. Ozai sat beside his wife Ursa on their floor cushions as they looked over their son's latest report card._

**_52_**

_Ozai sighed and peer over to his then ten year old son. "It's not that you're not smart Zuko. You are! You're my son, you've inherited your mother's brain, and if you'd only study harder, you'd make great grades. Isn't that right honey?" He looked over to see his wife's nod of approval. They both looked back at Zuko._

_He stood before them with outstretched arms, each little hand sporting a not so little pail of water._

_FLASH_

_Zuko appears to be several years older now but still in the same predicament. Instead of little pails though, he's now holding a full gallon's worth of water in two medium sized buckets. His parents are seated in their respective cushions, gazing at the report card before them._

**_62_**

_"Up only ten points in five years? What is the matter with you son? I know you can do better!" At this point, Ozai stood up. He walked around Zuko, waving his arms for emphasis._

_"You are smart," he continued. "You know that, Zuko, we know that. You're your mother's son! You have my brains! You'd get good grades if you'd only study harder!"_

_Amidst his fatherly lecturing, he had absentmindedly started Firebending out of habit. Unfortunately for Zuko, one of the flames shot came too close for comfort. He, who had been trying to wobble his way around what he assumed was his father's fury, suddenly came into the range of fire. The weight of the buckets overtook his balance and as he fell forward, the left side of his face became the receiving end of the flames._

_At the sound of water splashing and the cry emitted from his son, Ozai whirled around to see Zuko on the ground, hands clutching at his face._

_Ursa screamed and ran from her spot to his side. "Zuko! ZUKO! Look what you did, Ozai, go call a healer quick! ZUKO!"_

_END FLASH_

That incident had come to past. It was purely an accident, I know, but I was left with a souvenir the size of half of my mother's skillet burned into the upper left half of my face and beyond. So much for being smart. Thinking back now, I see that I could have just drop those damn buckets and sidestep him, he was shooting fire for Agni's sake! The problem was that the more you tell your kids they're smart, the more they actually believe it.

* * *

Later that evening, as I was just waking up, I decided right then that I would go meet up with my friends in Ba Sing Se. It's only a thirty minute train ride from Gaoling and besides, Ba Sing Se had some of the best noodle diners. Not to mention good beer to drink and pretty girls to pick up. Yeah, I'm ready now.

I had slept all day and I guess the gods were smiling on me today because my mother thought I had been studying the whole time and had left me alone. I freshen up and scattered some of my old notes a bit as to not imply otherwise. As soon as I left my room, the smell of bean curd hit my nose.

Mother was cooking Father's favorite again. Personally, I hated the stuff as much as he loved it so I decided it was all the better that I was heading out. Just as I was putting on my shoes, my mother caught me from the kitchen doorway.

"Are you going to Ba Sing Se again?" she asked. "You go there almost every day but you never visit your Uncle Iroh like you say you would."

"Mother, he's been trying to set me up with some 'nice' girl lately. Every time!" And I know his idea of what a nice girl was. Something I would avoid.

"Well at least pay him a visit now and again. He's been very lonely since the death of your cousin Lu Ten and he says you're a lot like him. In fact, I want you to promise to see him today!"

"Alright, alright." I began walking. The first reason as to why I promised was because my mother was holding a wooden spoon. I'll explain that later. The second reason was I did hold some respect for my uncle's loss. It's been a year I think, since Lu Ten died all of a sudden from drowning. I only knew him from when we were children but as we grew older, our lives drifted.

He was a good guy though.

Since, Uncle has always wanted my company often, and I do visit him from time to time. But recently I was just a little too busy, particularly because he's been pressing his _nice_ girls towards me. He hasn't before. Before, he had politely hinted here and there, but now he was just being downright persistent.

My mother is just as bad because she's slightly in it too. Always writing to Uncle when she thinks I don't know. I even found one of her unfinished letters on the table once, voicing her _concerns_ and let me tell you, I bend only _one_ way and that way is straight! Thank Agni father is still obsessing over my grades rather then upgrading to obsessing over my love life.

Or lack thereof.

I've reached the station.

* * *

"Yeah! Now this is what I'm talking about! AH!" Sokka was downing shot after shot. He was going to feel that in the morning I could tell. He sat parallel to me as Jet was seated to my right, and Aang seated to my left.

"Hey, not so much Sokka, ever think that you could actually _die_ in a noodle bar?" Jet imposed this question on him with such sincerity and solemnity that we all just looked at each other for a moment before we busted out laughing. Those two were just great, smashed. I held my liquor well but Aang didn't touch the stuff. He stuck to finishing his bowl of pho.

It was a new place, small but lively, courtesy of the alcohol. The entire front of it was designed in nothing but bamboo bars, kind of like a cage, and it offered a nice view of the nightlife outside. We had been here for a while now, talking, joking, eating, and drinking. So much that I lost track of the time.

Earlier, while Jet and Sokka were still sober, we were talking about relationships, who had a girl, who'd go for who, that kind of stuff. Coincidently, while talking, my perfect girl walked right outside our noodle bar! Long hair, slim figure, she kept her head down but I could tell she was pretty. "Tch-AH!" I drank a shot. "Now that is my type of girl! I'm going to go hit on her!"

All the other guys laughed and cheered me on. I drank some more to gain some 'liquid courage' but I guess it did a number on me and eventually I forgot to chase after her.

It wasn't until I glanced outside again that I saw a lot of the other businesses were retiring for the night that I realized how late it was. Great, I forgot about Uncle. It was good business for the joint to still be running at this time but they really need to install a clock!

I slid out of my chair and pushed it in. I took out my coin pouch and laid down my share for the food and drinks.

"It's getting late, guys. I should head home now so I can catch the next train. I'll see you guys next time alright?" My farewell was met with a "GOODBYE SHZUKO!" and a "We'll miss you long time Zuzu!" I raised my only eyebrow at the Airbender. He took the gist.

"Don't worry Zuko, go on home. As soon as I finish my pho, I'll take these two guys home and make sure they don't sleep with each other or anything." He gave me such a cheeky grin that I couldn't help but snicker in return. I exited the bar.

It had been a pretty good night. I still feel kind of guilty about not seeing Uncle though. Then again, I could still go see him tomorrow. No class or anything so I don't see what's stopping me. With that train of thought, I headed light-heartedly down the street towards the train station.

* * *

I'm waiting for the train now. I've already got my ticket and I'm just passing time looking at people here and there. There weren't that many on the platform at the time. But that was when I spotted her out of the corner of my bad eye.

This girl, who looked to be about my age, was garbed in traditional Water Tribe robes and was swaying. Just swaying on her toes, without a care in the world. Or maybe she's drunk since she swaying on her toes on the tip of the track. I was still trying to make up my mind when I heard the train coming.

_WOOOOT! WOOOOT!_

I took it that was my cue to rush forward and pull the girl back not a moment too soon. She stumbled back into my chest as I held her, the lights from within the train flashing before us. This felt kind of nice until I realized that the train had stopped and people were filing out. Some were giving us odd looks so I let her go.

As we were boarding it, I suddenly notice the new wave of people coming in and pushing past me. I didn't even see that many people at the platform, where the hell did these guys come from?! I ended up standing with nothing but the little rail above me to hold onto. Same as the drunk girl who was standing across from me, two seats down.

Now that I was able to get a better look at her, she was my type. Tall, slim figure, beautiful brown hair that she let cascade down her back, and her eyes. A lovely shade of ethereal blue but something seemed kind of empty about them. She really was something.

She was drunk.

And although she was so totally my type, I could see just by the way she held herself, she was completely and thoroughly plastered. Drunken girls disgusted me. So inwardly, I had decided to let her go. Yep. Just like that.

"Hey! You! Have some respect for your elders and give up your seat!"

I turned my eyes, as did the people in the small area, in her direction. The drunk girl had spoken and her eyes had become livelier. I was wondering who she was talking to when I suddenly noticed an senior man standing by her with a some younger guy wearing pink robes sitting in between. He seemed to have been reading a magazine and chewing gum before he was interrupted. I watched for his reaction.

He merely looked up at her with a lazy glance before returning to his magazine. Then the drunk girl did something totally unexpected. Well, not totally because she was drunk but still. She raised her hand mid-air before bringing it down to pop the guy in the back of the head, not hard enough to cause injury, but with such sheer force as to pop the gum from his mouth. He picked up it up to replaced it within his mouth and glared back up at her to which she, I couldn't resist a snicker here, comically bulged her eyes in an act of intimidation.

The guy looked over at the silent older man standing who was looking down at him expectantly, before relinquishing his seat. As the man breathed a word of thanks, the guy in the pink robes turned to go find another seat. All of a sudden-

"Hey!" It was the drunk girl again. Who by the way, seemed to be sobering up some. He turned to see what else she wanted. I thought she was going to apologize for hitting him earlier.

"Don't wear pink."

She gestured condescendingly with a lazy index finger. "It's not your color." With a last bulge of the eyes, it returned to its normal empty state. This girl was unbelievable!

We weren't even five minutes into the ride!

* * *

Ten minutes into the ride, I could see the girl's newfound soberness taking a toll on her. There wasn't anything else on the train to watch so I watched her. Eyes closed, her cheeks occasionally bulging. I don't know what it is about the sound or sight of people puking, it just made me want to puke too. I slightly followed each gag with a little one of my own.

She was standing over the senior man from earlier, holding on to the small railing above her. She looked like she was asleep. That is, until I saw her throat working. Her cheeks filled up and her left hand flew up to block whatever might fly out. I widened my eyes at this.

She was actually going to do it! She's going to-

The girl swallowed it. I looked on in horror, my mouth hanging open. With a few flickers of her eyes, she licked her chops and went back to what I assumed was sleep. My gods. Now I wanted to empty my stomach.

All of a sudden the train lurched and she beat me to the chase. She opened her eyes hazily and didn't even make an effort to turn another direction. Everyone could only gaze in shock as she puked her stomach onto the older man's hair. I see she's been eating some Ramen. Turns out, the man's hair was actually just a toupee and as soon as he lifted it slowly from his shiny bald head, out came some rice too.

Now this is where it becomes rather messed up. When the girl was finished, she turned to me all of a sudden and pointed to me, calling out "Honey," just before passing out on the floor. What the hell? Now everyone was looking at me weird. The older man called out to me.

"YOU! You come over here!" He can't be serious. I looked around to check if he were speaking to anyone else before looking back.

"What? No, you've got all wrong, she's no-" I tried protesting.

"Get over here NOW! You need to clean up this messed your girlfriend has made!"

He was covered in Ramen noodles and rice, and was giving me such an evil look, I didn't dare refuse. I ambled over to him. Not knowing what to use to clean him up, I removed my outer vest and began wiping him and his toupee off. When I was done, I absentmindedly made a move to clean his head before he screamed. Oh yes, the puke.

"What are you doing!?"

"Sorry, I forgot!" I did my best to clean it all off even though it was my favorite vest. The stench still remained so I reached for my coin pouch as to compensate for dry cleaning. He waved me off.

"Ai! Just leave me alone and go take care of your girlfriend. You should take better care of her next time and not let her drink so much!" With this reprimand he sent me off. I couldn't believe how I ended up stuck with her. Luckily the train had just arrived in Gaoling so I would only have to dump her at some inn.

But in the meanwhile, she was now comfortably plastered against my back while I had to lug her around the station. It was torture because although she looked slim, she was pretty heavy. While I was walking, or rather, dragging my feet, I passed several benches. I seriously contemplated leaving her on one of them. I actually did.

I walked off, feeling all pleased with myself. No more crazy drunk chicks to worry about for the rest of the night and it'll be like it never happened! But strangely, with each step, I couldn't help but slow and look back every now and then. And with each step, I felt the weight of my guilt grow steadily heavier for having left some poor defenseless drunk-sober girl passed out on a bench at Gaoling's train station.

With a sigh, I jogged back to the offending bench.

* * *

With much effort, I finally made it to a seedy little inn conveniently located near Gaoling's stations. When I entered, I headed straight towards a wispy little man behind the main desk. He glanced at me the girl on my shoulders momentarily before averting his eyes to me.

"Ooh, seems like your honey's wasted. Wild night, eh?" He grinned knowingly at me. "Obviously," I muttered and rolled my eyes. I cleared my voice and said "I need a room for me and my fiancée tonight. We'll need some towels and headache medicine."

Just because I don't study, doesn't mean I'm stupid. I know how it would look if I just asked for a room with an unconscious girl on my back. The man suddenly stared at me suspiciously for a moment as if making a mental note, before giving me a room key. "This is to room 5, up the stairs and to your left. I'll give you a moment to settle in and I'll be up with your things. You can pay me then."

"Thanks." There was suddenly an awkward silence as I realized my predicament. So that's what he meant. Stupid!

I tried to balance the sleeping girl on my hip, but her shifting made it all the more impossible. I couldn't take my hands off her (A/N: RroOW XD) because like I said earlier, she's heavy. So I settled for grabbing the key between my teeth while the offender was allowed to grip my neck in what I thought was a really lazy mocking way in her sleep. I'm starting to think she's faking it.

I made my way up the stairs slowly and was rather surprised at how nice the room was when I entered it. All it had was a light yellow floral interior, a big window, a door leading to the bathroom, a shelf of books, a desk, and a nice…twin size bed? I thought this was suppose to be big enough for two people! Whatever, she's killing my back right now.

I laid her down upon the bed, and what relief it brought me! I took a moment to catch my breath by slumping down against it. She shifted again and brought her arm down to wrap around my neck. I threw it off because I'm still exhausted from the troubles she's caused me. I was still in disbelief as to how this sleeping girl manage to turn my entire night upside down. What I need right now is a hot bath.

As I was getting up, I managed to get a second good look at her for that night. I have to admit, she looks a lot better when she wasn't puking on people. But she also looked a lot sadder. She kept reaching up to her neck and mumbling incoherent words. That was when I noticed a carved blue pendant resting against her collarbone. For some reason I don't know, it gave me the briefest impression of grief and I…felt the need to cure it.

I shook my head. I really need that bath now. That man was taking an awful lot of time getting towels and medicine. Whatever, I didn't want to wait so I headed towards the bathroom and began to strip. In the middle of it stood a huge wooden tub with a single water tap running down the side of it. Along the walls were various soaps, sponges, and a long wooden ladle, all lined up beneath a large mirror. This inn was way better then it let on.

I walked over to the tap and switched it on. While I was patiently waiting for the tub to fill up, I couldn't help but look over myself in front of the huge mirror. Those years of not studying did kind of pay off from holding all those buckets of water. I started flexing my muscles and for a moment, stupid I know, I wished that girl was awake and could see me.

During my private show, I suddenly heard her groaning so I nearly walk out naked to check on her. I ran back in and surveying the bathroom, I grabbed the nearest object with reasonable coverage size. How long does it take to go get towels and medicine?! When I went back out, I saw that she was just cold and unable to think straight enough to get up and get under the covers. I cautiously approached her, making sure that just in case she did wake up, the wooden ladle did not reveal anything.

Gently with one hand, I rolled her over until she was right against the wall and took the comforter of the remaining space to wrap around her body. She stop shivering instantly. I couldn't help but smile at this when all of a sudden a bang came at the door. I whirled around just in time to see two men of the Dai Li break down the door. The man from the main desk was right behind them!

They both stepped inside of the room, arms poised and ready to attack. One of them stepped in further than the other and besides seeing my state of undress, instantly spotted the girl against the wall. He gasped and assumed the worst.

"PERVERT! Step away from the girl slowly and put your hands in the air!" he shouted at me.

Inwardly, I groaned. What in Agni's name was this night coming too? That girl was probably a demon and secretly laughing beneath the safety of her covers! I attempted to explain myself for the second time that night.

"Sir, it's not what it looks like, I-"

"_Step away from the girl, and put your hands in the air_!" the second one echoed more forcefully.

I slowly raised both of hands when I suddenly felt the ladle beginning to slip. I don't know why but ever since the realization that I was boy and had been bathing in women's bathhouse, the humiliation had never been able to settle down completely. Nor did the discomfort of allowing anyone to see me naked again so when it did drop, I instinctively moved to catch the ladle and preserve what was left of my male dignity, despite what the _Dai Li_ might think. Against my better judgement.

The world went painfully black.

* * *

Stay tuned and see what becomes of Zuko. That's what happen you lie! You get stuck naked in a room with a sleeping drunk girl and the Dai Li! And what about the sleeping drunk girl? What will become of her? Normally I hate asking rhetorical questions but this is a good time to ask! Read, read, read and review! 


End file.
